Out of School Time (OST) Program Facilitator, Part-Time Contractor

Dates: October 1, 2026 - May 31, 2027

Location: Best Buy Teen Tech Center (BBTTC) @ Keystone Community Services

1150 Selby Ave, St. Paul, MN 55104

Description: Project Invent is a national nonprofit empowering students across the country to invent technologies for social impact. We train facilitators in design thinking, engineering, and entrepreneurship to lead students as they identify real problems in their communities and invent impactful solutions. At the end of the year, students present their inventions to their Community Partners and have a chance to pitch to investors and tech leaders at our Demo Day events.

We are searching for a part-time facilitator at the BBTTC @ Keystone Community Services to lead a group of students through our invention-for-social-good program. You will work directly with a small team of students as they design and build a tech device to address a real-world problem. In this role, you will implement Project Invent’s curriculum and guide students on their invention journey as they build relationships with a Community Partner, ideate on potential solutions, design and build a physical prototype, and participate in key program milestones like Idea Review, Pitch Coaching, and Demo Day. To help you on your way, you will receive 4-days of Project Invent invention exploration in our program to kickstart your work and explore our Theory of Change, as well as ongoing 1:1 support from a Project Invent Program Manager.

The ideal candidate loves working directly with students to help them grow as individuals and develop skills that will set them up for life-long success. If like us, you believe that combining human-centered design, engineering, and social impact into a learning experience transforms educators and students alike, this is a fantastic opportunity!

What We’re Looking For:

• Experience and passion for working directly with high school age students.
• Enthusiasm & passion for working with underserved youth to build technology and social + emotional skills.
• Comfort with teaching in an in-person, classroom or out-of-school-time environment.
• Availability to attend some virtual weekend and evening events, including our virtual Fall Institute, Oct 10-14th.
• Experience with design thinking principles, invention, and/or making/tinkering is a plus.
• Experience with microcontrollers such as Arduino or Micro:bit is a plus.
• Availability weekly from 4:30-6 pm on Thursdays to facilitate the sessions in-person at BBTTC @ Keystone Community Services in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Essential Duties:

• Complete Fall Institute in a virtual environment, both synchronously and asynchronously, with Project Invent staff to prepare for curriculum delivery in-person at BBTTC @ Keystone Community Services.
• Deliver weekly workshops using the Project Invent curriculum from October 2026 - May 2027, which includes approximately 2 hours of instructional / student contact time weekly and lesson preparation time at the facilitator’s discretion. Most facilitators spend 2-4 hours per week on planning time outside of the classroom.
• Work under direction of Project Invent Program Manager to meet the program and grant requirements.
• Act as the primary support, mentor, and coach for participants as they develop specific technology, entrepreneurship, and design skills through the Project Invent program.
• Attend virtual events alongside students on some weekends and evenings (approximately 3 to 5 engagements), as well as professional development workshops and educator meetings.
• Serve as the primary contact for all program partners, mentors and volunteers as well as provide ongoing support.
• Communicate regularly with the Project Invent programs team via email, phone, and meetings.
• Coordinate other program aspects as needed.

Helpful Links:

Want to get a better feel of what we do and why we do it? Check out these links:

• The Invention Journey: Freeport High School (video)
• Program Experience (video)
• Fellow Experience (video)
• Journey to Demo Day (video)

Fall Institute Dates: To help you on your way, you will receive 4-days of Project Invent invention exploration in our program to kickstart your work with us! This is the same professional development Institute we offer to schools and educators to cover the principles of design-thinking, real-world problem solving through innovation, and empowering students. You can view the schedule and agenda here for October 10-14th, 2026.

Travel: The students you support on this innovation journey will be eligible to participate in a 2 OR 3-day expense-covered trip to an in-person, out-of-state Demo Day in May 2027. If you are available, you will be able to attend this all-expenses-paid trip as a chaperone to watch your students present their inventions to a panel of judges.

Background Check Requirement: This position works with minors and young adults. Applicants must agree to a background check to qualify, to be administered as a final step in the hiring process.

Compensation: This is an independent contractor position. You will receive training and support to implement the program with the guidance of BBTTC @ Keystone Community Services staff. Contractors will receive a stipend of $10,000.

Insurance: Since this is an independent contractor position, you must have the ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage and that Project Invent is listed as "additional insured" on the policy. You will need to obtain general liability insurance (or a "comprehensive" plan) with coverage of at least $1M (combined single limit) that covers bodily injury, personal injury, broad form property damage, contractual liability, and cross-liability. This is standard insurance coverage for independent contractors performing duties with children in educational settings. Project Invent does not require coverage to begin until the first date of in-person programming with youth participants and can answer any questions about obtaining coverage as needed.

To apply: Please apply on our official Idealist posting, here. For any questions, you can reach out to alexis@projectinvent.org.